Container handle structure



Aug. 25, 1942. w. a. MocRl-z jLT1-A1.

CONTAINER HANDLE STRUCTURE Original Filed June 17, 1938 INVENTORS l Wolter B. Moore.

Robzr'r S. Cobb. M ,L M

ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 25, 1942 CONTAINER HANDLE STRUCTURE Walter B. Moore and Robert S. Cobb, West Lafayette, Ohio, assignors to The Moore Enameling & Mfg. Company, La Fayette, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Original application June 17, 1938, Serial No. 214,375. Divided and this application January 13, 1941, Serial No. 374,148

3 Claims.

Our invention relates to a container handle structure. It has to do, more particularly, with a handle structure embodying a bail and a handgrip mounted thereon to protect the hand of the person carrying the container. It is applicable to pails and to various other receptacles.

In the prior art, the type of handgrip most commonly used has been a substantially cylindrical piece of wood provided with a longitudinal bore through which the bail is passed before the ends thereof are crimped or bent so that they may be applied to the container. When they have been once applied, they are not readily removable and therefore cannot be readily cleaned. Because of this, they tend to become unsanitary. For this reason, there is a need for a detachable handgrip which will effectively serve the purpose when in use and which will be readily detachable and replaceable and will be of a structure that may be easily and eiectively cleaned.

Various detachable handgrips have been provided for the bails of buckets and other containers. However, most of these handgrips have been unduly complicated in that they have been formed of a plurality of parts which must be assembled during application to the bail and disassembled for removal. Because they are formed of a plurality of parts,.they are unduly costly in manufacture and require an undue amount of time for application or removal. When in position on the bail, there is a danger of slippage of the parts with relation to each other and they are not as sturdy as they should be. Likewise, they are not ordinarily of a structure that may be readily cleaned.

Some attempts have been made to provide handgrips of a resilient nature by forming them of resilient material curled or bent to provide a groove for reception of the bail. Being of metal, handgrips of this type are undesirable because they tend to become unduly hot when the container has been subjected to heat. Likewise, they are usually held in place by friction between the bail and the handgrip, and, since both parts are of metal, there is an undesirable danger f slippage of one upon the other.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a handgrip for container bails which will be non-conductive and which;I therefore, will adequately protect the hand of the person, lifting or carrying the container, from heat as well as from undesirable pressure from the bail.

Another object of this invention is to provide a handgrip for the bail of the container which will be readily detachable and replaceable so that it may be removed and cleaned and then replaced with a minimum of diiculty.

Another object of this invention is to provide a detachable handgrip which will be of a simple construction with all of the surfaces thereof readily accessible for cleaning and which will at the same time avoid the above-enumerated drawbacks of the prior art.

Further objects of our invention will be apparent as the following description of our invention progresses.

This application is a division of our co-pending application Serial No. 214,375, filed June 17, 1938, and directed to a Container handle structure.

The preferred embodiment of our invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein similar characters of reference designate correspending parts and wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a bail with our handle structure shown thereon.

Figure 2 is a detail in perspective of our handle structure.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a bail with the handgrip therefor shown in longitudinal section and with the parts shown in disassembled relation.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the parts in assembled relationship.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, it`

will be seen that the bail l is provided intermedia-te its ends with an upstanding portion comprising outwardly and upwardly diverging legs 2 and 3 which are joined by an arcuate crosspiece fl formed integrally therewith, just as legs 2 and 3 are formed integrally with the rest of the bail. The handgrip 5 is preferably formed of wood, plastic or some other relatively non-conductive material but may be formed of any other desired material. This handgrip 5 is of general arcuate form, corresponding to the arc and ourvature of the bail and is provided on its upper surface with a groove 6 that extends longitudinally and substantially along the center line thereof and which is of a cross-section substantially corresponding in dimensions with the cross-sectional dimensions of the bail. This groove 6 merges with vertical sockets 'l and 8 which are provided in the ends of the handgrip 5 and which have outwardly and upwardly diverging walls 9 and l0. These diverging walls are joined at their upper end to the base of the groove 6 by means of rounded corners ll and I2 whose outermost points are spaced somewhat farther apart than the lowermost ends of the legs 2 and 3 of the upstanding portions of the bail, as illustrated by the dotted lines of Figure 3.

The handgrip is forced onto the bail by forcing the rounded corners` Il and l2 in between thel lower ends of the legs 2 and 3 of the upstanding portion of the bail and continuingthis forcing Y pressure until the portion 4 of the bail is seated in the longitudinal groove on the upper surface of the handgrip. After this has been done, the legs 2 and 3 will fit snugly in the position shown in Figure 4 and the bail, which has been exed in the application of the handgrip thereto, will have returned to its normal position in which it resiliently and frictionally resists removal of the handgrip therefrom, because of the fact that the lower ends of the legs are closer together than the upper corners Il and l2 on the handgrip.

It will be seen from the above that we have provided a novel type of bail and handgrip which may be utilized on various types of receptacles and which are of extremely simple structure that can be manufactured at relatively low cost. The bail is formed in one piece and the handgrip is formed in one piece. All parts of the bail and all parts of the handgrip are readily accessible for cleaning. Furthermore, the handgrip may be applied to the bail merely by positioning the handgrip in its initial position on the bail and squeezing them together so that the bail will be forced over the rounded corners Il and l2 and into the position shown in Figure 4.

When in position, the handgrip will be rmly, though resiliently and frictionally, held in position upon the bail. In our device, the hand of the person carrying the container will be amply protected by the handgrip and also the handgrip will be prevented from the danger of accidental detachment from the bail.

Various other advantages will be apparent from the above description, the drawing and the following claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

l. A container handle structure comprising a Wire bail of arcuate form, said bail being bent adjacent its mid-portion to form a pair of spaced upstanding leg portions which project upwardly and in diverging relationship to each other, said leg portions being joined by an arcuate portion, said arcuate portion with said leg portions defining a socket, a hand grip within said socket, said arcuate portion having the same arc of curvature as the main part of the bail and being parallel thereto, said hand grip being of arcuate form and having a groove in its top edge for receiving said arcuate portion of the bail when it is positioned between said leg portions, said hand grip also having sockets formed in its ends for receiving said leg portions, and said sockets having bases which diverge upwardly away from each other so that the hand grip may be snapped into position between said leg portions and may be snugly received in said socket portion.

2. A container handle structure comprising a wire bail of arcuate form, said bail bent adjacent its mid-portion to form a pair of spaced upstanding leg portions which project upwardly and in diverging relationship to each other, said leg portions being joined by an arcuate portion, said arcuate portion with said leg portions defining a socket, a hand grip within said socket, said arcuate portion having the same arc of curvature as the main part of the bail and being parallel thereto, said hand grip being of arcuate form and having a groove in its top edge for receiving said arcuate portion of the bail when it is positioned between said leg portions, said hand grip also having sockets formed in its ends for receiving said leg portions, said sockets having bases which diverge upwardly away from each other, said bases of said sockets being joined to the base of said groove by corners which are spaced from each other a distance greater than the distance between the lower ends of said leg portions.

3. A container handle structure comprising a wire bail, said wire bail being bent adjacent its mid-portion to form a pair of spaced upstanding leg portions which project upwardly therefrom and are substantially vertically disposed, said leg portions being connected at their upper ends by a portion of the bail, a hand grip having a groove in its top edge for receiving said connecting portion of the bail when it is positioned between said leg portions, said hand grip also having sockets formed in its ends which extend the full height of said hand grip and which are adapted to receive said leg portions, said sockets being in communication at their upper ends with said groove, said leg portions diverging upwardly away from each other and said sockets having bases which diverge upwardly from each other in a similar manner so that the hand grip may be snapped into position between said leg portions and may be snugly received in said socket.

WALTER B. MOORE. ROBERT S. COBB. 

